Get it together ditch the chaos, do the work, and design your success

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My third book is dedicated to my parents, Ira and Sherry Berger, who’ve helped me get it together
and keep it together since day one. And when things aren’t together, they are the first to let me
know. I love you, Mom and Dad.


CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 I NEED TO GET IT TOGETHER
CHAPTER 2 OWN YOUR DAY, CLEAN UP YOUR ROUTINE
CHAPTER 3 COPING WITH FAILURE
CHAPTER 4 SET YOUR GOALS

CHAPTER 5 THE TOOLS
CHAPTER 6 HOW TO GET GREAT WORK DONE
CHAPTER 7 SOCIAL MEDIA AND DISCONNECTION
CHAPTER 8 MANAGE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
CHAPTER 9 PERSONAL WELLNESS
NOTES
INDEX


INTRODUCTION
“Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut! Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut!” My trainer yelled out boxing moves. He
was loud for the sake of being loud. I followed his commands as best I could with my big pink
gloves. I felt like Gigi Hadid whenever I practiced with him. “Eye contact, stop yawning, put your
shoulder into it, use more energy, stop yawning. . . .” I could tell he was starting to get frustrated with
my lackluster performance. I didn’t mind; I was relieved to not be in charge for the first time all day. I
meant to go straight to the gym from my office, but, as usual, I forgot my gym bag. Our session started
at 5 p.m. and I had rolled in around 5:20. I was known as the “late client.”
My brain was still in a million pieces from the hustle and bustle of the day. The highlight reel? My
team didn’t hit their sales goals, my assistant put in her two weeks’ notice, I still have several followup e-mails to send, I need to call my mom back, and my closest friends are in a group text message
fight that is making my phone ding nonstop. If all of that wasn’t enough, I felt a case of the sniffles
coming on, and the trainer was right . . . I was tired!
Boom, boom, boom . . . my glove would meet his boxing pads. I boxed in leggings and an
oversized gray hoodie that probably needed to be retired years ago. They say that when you look the
part, you feel the part. I certainly wasn’t feeling the part in my sad hoodie. The trainer looked at me
and rolled his eyes, “Wearing your dad’s clothes again?” I smirked back at him, ignoring his
comment. I tried to keep my focus, but the trainer could tell I was distracted. My mind was
everywhere except at the gym.
“You need to work on this, Lauren, seriously. You seem to be all over the place. I want to see
constant improvement, none of this laziness. You need to get it together!” Wow! A harsh claim from
the trainer at my gym, whom I’d only met one month ago. But in all honesty . . . he was right.

Welcome to my third book. I’m so excited to take you on this personal journey and show you how
I’ve been able to “get it together.” I started the writing process feeling frustrated with life and work. I
was going nonstop but not seeing the results I wanted. I felt like a hot mess, like I was all over the
place, and I agreed with my trainer, I needed to get it together. Today, after grueling hard work, focus,
and the longing to change, I can tell you, my life is more together than I thought it would be.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS BOOK
You may know me from my other two books, All Work, No Pay and Welcome to the Real World. In
those books, I wrote about the power of internships and career opportunities, and how navigating
those experiences properly can help you get from where you are to where you want to be. This new
title is the perfect follow-up to those books.
In Get It Together, I take my advice one step further and help you create your ultimate path to
success. Like my other books, Get It Together is rooted in the workplace but provides you with
actionable steps that you can utilize at home as well. As the reader, you will walk away from this
book armed with techniques and tips to quickly integrate into your daily routine to make you feel more
together.
We kick off the book with some solutions for success in Chapter 1. The reoccurring themes I pull


out here are brought up repeatedly throughout the book. I can’t stress enough the importance of these
principles as they guide the rest of the book’s material and are mantras that I try to live by.
In Chapter 2, I’ll introduce you to my daily routine (think: day in the life) and encourage you to
think about reinventing your own schedule. A daily routine is our opportunity to execute and
accomplish our goals, so it’s important we take that seriously. And the best part? Every day is a blank
slate to start over and lock that routine into place!
Chapter 3 is about learning how to cope with failure. One clear lesson that I learned in trying to
get my life together was that failure and rejection happen. And when it comes, it comes in hard. In this
chapter, I help you handle these issues and find strategies to better manage both failure and rejection.
Knowing how to do this will help you ultimately get it together.
Chapter 4 focuses on goal-setting, productivity, organization, and leaving work feeling satisfied.

In this chapter, I discuss time and how to best track and plan how your time is spent. The exercise in
this chapter (YQMB—stay tuned to find out what this stands for!) will help you to not only create
goals, but learn to create Action Plans too.
Chapter 5 covers everything you need to be successful at work (all of your tools) including your
calendar, inbox, bullet journal, and project management system. I go through each tool and discuss
best practices based on how I stay organized at work.
Chapter 6 is all about efficiency at work and saving time while performing at a high level. In this
chapter, I cover how to do great work. I’ll cover how to focus, prioritize, run efficient meetings,
become more results-oriented, network internally and externally, and so much more.
Chapter 7 dives into the idea that although social networks allow us to brand ourselves and
connect with more people than we ever thought possible, it also adds 100 more things to our to-do
lists and is one of the biggest distractions we face. This chapter will help you evaluate which
networks to use, how to use them, how to manage the noise on all your networks, and even how to
really disconnect.
Chapter 8 is our professional and personal relationships chapter. Since our colleagues,
supervisors, friends, and family are whom we spend the most time with, it’s important to learn the
best ways to manage these relationships. Here we will define the professional and personal
relationships we have and how to best handle them. I discuss strategies for dealing with conflict at
work and in your personal life. As someone who is from Florida and now lives across the country in
California, I share my own tips on staying connected with loved ones no matter how far apart you are.
Chapter 9 covers tips for the mind, body, and soul. I cover fitness, eating healthy, sleep, and most
important—relaxation techniques. As an added bonus, I list 40 great ways that you can relax—starting
today. This chapter is important because it’s not about work and only about you.
As you read these next chapters and start to create your own personal plan to get it together, #GIT,
please keep me posted on your progress. I’m super accessible, and thanks to social media, we can be
in touch throughout your journey.
Please feel free to message me, tweet me, DM me—anything you want. I’m @InternQueen on
every social platform! I’m genuinely interested in hearing the story of how each one of you is working
to get it together.
And now, without further ado, I ask you to join me in this adventure of self-improvement,

professional development, business savvy, and personal wellness. Let’s get our lives together
@InternQueen—#GIT!


HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE
Before we dive into the first chapter, I want to tell you how this book came to be and why I’m so
excited for the personal journey we’re about to take together.
When you pull back the curtain, you’ll find this book has been a work in progress for some time. In
fact, the first version of this project (with a different title and take) was put together almost three
years ago. Originally, I wanted to write a book about the word busy. I felt that it had crept up and
invaded our lives in a way we couldn’t handle.
I couldn’t escape the busy. Every work call or personal call started with the person on the other
line telling me how busy he or she was—disguising the word with silly phrases like “I’m running
around like a chicken with my head cut off,” “I’m slammed,” “I’m spent,” “I’m crazed.” I felt that
“busy” was used as an excuse. People couldn’t see me, meet with me, or even talk to me because of
how busy they were. I also felt that the word busy wrongfully became interchangeable with the word
successful. Whoever was the busiest was also the most important. I didn’t like the busy competition.
It left me feeling like I wasn’t good enough because I wasn’t as busy as everyone else. Or perhaps I
was just as busy but didn’t talk about it (or boast about it) in the way everyone else did. As a result, I
started to subconsciously try to add random tasks and events to my calendar just to feel busy and
accepted. This left me feeling overwhelmed, confused, and feeling like I’d lost myself somewhere
under all of those forced plans and activities.
I was passionate about the Busy project but couldn’t seem to find an angle that made sense.
Publishers pushed me to be more academic in tone, but it just felt forced—the book no longer felt like
my own voice. Long story short, the concept wasn’t working and needed to be modified. I desperately
wanted to provide my readers with value, not just an idea, but tangible tips that they could put into
action immediately, actions that would create meaningful change. I immediately got to work with this
new idea in mind and was amazed at how often I’d hear people in everyday life say some variation of
“I just need to get it together!” I began to research this idea more and discovered a December 2015
Gallop poll that revealed “61 percent of working Americans said they did not have enough time to do

the things they wanted to do.”1 I knew I was onto something special. When I started writing about this
new concept, I kept it exclusive to the workplace and how to get your work life together. But I quickly
realized that my work life intersected with every other part of my life: family, friends, free time, my
house, my personal fitness goals . . . everything. Getting it together wasn’t just a workplace goal, it
was an everyplace goal.
In addition to feeling busy, why else did we all feel so distracted, disconnected, and “not
together”? Ironically, social media (the tool that is supposed to connect us) seems to have played
quite the role in creating (or at least enhancing) the chaotic world we’re all living in. And think about
the pressure that we put on ourselves to uphold our Instagram-worthy lifestyles—it’s insane! We
can’t live up to the impossible standards we set. We want to be the best worker, friend, parent,
sibling, colleague—the list goes on and on. Not only do we want to act like we have it all together
and go through the motions of having it all together, but we also want to look like we have it all
together. We want to wear the cutest outfits while doing our work, seeing the world, and making
things happen. Meanwhile, the more we try to be everything to everyone, the more we find ourselves
constantly falling short of our own expectations and accomplishing nothing. As Erin Falconer says so
candidly in her book, How to Get Sh*t Done, “nobody cares that you can do it all.”2
We can’t be perfect as perfect doesn’t exist. What we can do is reframe our thinking and strive to


be better, more strategic, more prepared. The moment we focus on perfection, we immediately lose.
We give ourselves anxiety, stress, migraines, gray hair, and breakouts. The American Psychological
Association reports that 39 percent of millennials say their stress has increased in the last year.3 And
it makes sense because we create our own stress. We spend our time diligently adding items to our
to-do lists, commitments to our calendar, and heavily filtered photos to social media. Worst of all, we
want to keep this stress a secret from our friends, family, and especially ourselves. We don’t want to
admit that we don’t have it all under control. We desperately want everyone to think we have it all
together, when it often feels like the furthest thing from the truth. We are so tangled up in our lives that
we can’t see how to simplify them. And the truth? It doesn’t have to be this complicated.
I want you to be able to take your time with this book. It is filled with lifestyle changes and small
tips that can really go a long way. If you rush the read, you won’t be able to push yourself and really

start implementing my advice. Please, go slow, read one chapter at a time, and really consider the
information I’m sharing. I know that everyone has different days, different schedules, different
obstacles, different strengths and weaknesses—but I’m confident that you can find something in this
book that speaks to you.
Getting it together isn’t easy. If it was, you wouldn’t have picked up this title in the first place. But
I promise, we’ll fight through it together and we won’t stop until we feel better, lighter, and more inplace.

INTERVIEWS
In addition to my own advice, I wanted to get different experts to weigh in on how they manage their
lives at work and at home. As soon as each interview started, it reaffirmed my interest and belief in
the importance of this topic; I couldn’t believe how much we all had in common, regardless of our
jobs. We were all fighting the same battle and had the same resources to achieve our goals. Each
interview taught me new techniques that I could use in trying to get it together. At times, I was selfish
with my interview questions, asking questions that I needed to hear the answers to. And I’m confident
that you and I have things in common, and you’ll also enjoying hearing the answers to my questions.
To determine whose interviews would be the best fit for the book, I first went to our audience and
asked whom they wanted to hear from. From that brainstorming session, I was able to secure
interviews with business experts, social media influencers, and more!
I was lucky enough to get to interview Laura Vanderkam, one of the most popular authors on the
planet when it comes to time management, for the book. She’s written several books on the subject
including her latest title, Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done. She also happens
to be one of my favorite authors as I always learn so much by reading her books. Sarah Boyd is the
founder of Simply, the larger-than-life and worldwide fashion/beauty/women empowerment
conference,4 and president of West Coast operations for Nylon, its new parent company. I’ve known
Sarah since before she started her megabrand, and she’s always been a force to be reckoned with.
Her brand receives a ton of celebrity attention from people like Olivia Culpo, Catt Sadler, and more.
Another out-of-this-world entrepreneur that I spoke with for this book is MissionU cofounder Adam
Braun. You may remember Braun from his previous nonprofit that he founded, Pencils of Promise.
Adam is author of The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary

Change and, of course, the brother of music superhero Scooter Braun. In his new venture, MissionU,
Braun is disrupting the education space with an alternative to a traditional four-year college.
I also wanted to speak to the most organized person on the planet, and luckily, I knew exactly
whom to call. Jen Robin, CEO of Life in Jeneral, a company that gets hired to go into people’s homes
and work spaces to clean them up and get them organized. You’ll have to start following Jen’s
Instagram feed, @LifeInJeneral, and you’ll also be inspired to get it together. And finally, you’ll hear
from one of my closest friends, Rachel Doyle, the CEO and Founder of GlamourGals
(glamourgals.org), a nonprofit that she’s been running for over 18 years that connects young women
with the elderly through makeovers and companionship. Rachel and I run businesses of a similar size
and are always leaning on each other for advice and talking about how we can both get it together!
I was so excited to also include interviews with social media influencers like Ashley Robertson
(www.theteacherdiva.com) and Lauryn Hock (www.lauryncakes.com). They both have the type of
Instagram feeds that others dream about! They always look put together and somehow keep up with a
demanding schedule, major content pushes, constant sponsorship deals, and insane engagement from
followers. I also interviewed one of my favorite YouTubers (and our network’s favorite), Brooke
Miccio (@BrookeMiccio), who has a huge following on both Instagram and YouTube and somehow
runs her own business, grows her personal brand, pumps out content, and is a full-time student at the
University of Georgia.
•••
We all have that person in our lives who seems to know everything about time management. For me,
that person is Josh Notes, a friend and an executive efficiency and renewable energy systems expert.
He provides great advice throughout the book on doing great work. When I interviewed Josh Notes,
he said something that stuck with me. He asked me a trick question: “What’s the one thing that we all
have in common with one another, regardless of how special or important someone might be?” I had
no idea. “Time!” he declared. “We all have the exact same amount of time—168 hours in a week to
do whatever we want with.” And Josh is right. We are all playing with the same tools, and when you
remind yourself of that, it sort of evens the playing field.

WHAT’S NEXT?

If we actually “got our lives together,” what would we do with this newfound success? People have
always told me that I have great potential, but that I always tend to get in my own way. Whether it was
not completing tasks, not getting to bed on time, being messy, or ignoring priorities on my to-do list, I
was sometimes my biggest issue. But if I could simply do all of those things properly, what would I
discover about myself? If we weren’t constantly feeling that we are buried under messy piles of dirty
clothes, dishes in the sink, empty iced coffee cups, and purses filled with scrap paper, can you
imagine what we would be capable of?
I’m here to help you discover exactly that. Let’s see what your life could be like if you were able
to remove the busy, the expectations of others, and just focus on what you truly want.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “OK, well, this sounds nice, but how long will it take to ‘Get It
Together’?”—I totally get it. It’s a fair question.


For me, it was challenging. My eyes were bigger than my stomach. I thought I could change
everything about my lifestyle all at once. I soon learned that habits are powerful behaviors to break or
change. So, in order to reset my lifestyle, I first had to recognize all of the things I was doing that
were holding me back.
Every night, I’d write about what was working and not working in my life, and then I’d write down
what I was going to do to fix those problems I was experiencing. Today, four months later, I can tell
you with great confidence that I’ve experienced change—and great change at that! I’m in tune with my
own needs and therefore can make decisions that are the best for me regardless of what others think.
My decisions also feel intentional and not random. On a daily basis I’m aware of what I need to do
and I am able to focus and create my own “distraction free” zone, regardless of where I am. I’ve also
found that I enjoy leaving my phone at home or on the other side of the room for long periods of time.
These changes have not only been beneficial to me, but I’m now able to help others by sharing the tips
that have worked in my life as well.
Just yesterday, a friend called and started venting about her problems, but instead of joining her
pity party, I simply said, “Here’s all you need to do. Evaluate the way you spend your time at work
and focus on getting more work done during the workday. I know you’re busy, but try to really focus
on your projects. Don’t sit on your e-mail all day long.” (Easier said than done, I know.)

Every day I remind myself of the guiding principles in this book. They help me to recognize my
own suboptimal behaviors and fully understand how to navigate difficult situations. The best thing
about these principles is that we already have the tools. We internally possess the skills—we just
need to remind ourselves to activate them in times of need.
So, let’s do this—let’s get it together!


chapter 1
I NEED TO GET IT TOGETHER

I

n Chapter 1, we will review the 17 guiding principles of the book that are crucial to your success.
These principles include loving yourself, knowing your needs and priorities, preparing for
everything, celebrating you, creating boundaries, valuing your time, and so much more.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
To make sure this book reflected real life, I journaled about the daily actions I was taking to get it
together and the effect they had. This process brought to light the root causes of the issues I was
having. The following pages capture the solutions that I devised to help frame the material for this
book. Think of these solutions as the guiding principles for the book.

1. Like Bieber Says, “Love Yourself”
Lately, I’m a big fan of Demi Lovato (and of course, Bieber too!). In fact, I’m such a sucker that I paid
for YouTube’s Red service just to watch her documentary. Demi talks about self-love a lot in her
documentary and throughout her work. After I watched the documentary, I came to realize how big a
role self-love should be playing in our lives. Why was I fighting with myself constantly, and feeling
like I wasn’t good enough? We hold ourselves to ridiculous standards, trying to live our life as if it’s
being captured for our Instagram Story feeds. Real life happens, and we don’t have an edit button or a
cool new filter to hide the reality. When you put too much pressure on yourself, apply a gentle

reminder—love yourself. Remind yourself of how loved you are throughout this process, and you’ll
be amazed at how much it can calm you down and center you during tough times.

2. Create Healthy Boundaries
A topic that comes up several times throughout the book is boundaries. Before I wrote this book, I
didn’t incorporate many boundaries into my life. Honestly, I didn’t realize what a big problem this
was for me. I would literally jump anytime a friend called, texted, asked to make plans, or wanted to
travel to or with me. Every time I would just say yes. When I made these instant decisions, I wouldn’t
consider myself or my desires, I’d just say yes. It didn’t matter if I had the time—I’d make time.
Ironically, trying so hard to please other people backfired. Because I was terrible at creating
boundaries, I would overcommit and then have to backpedal to get out of the plans I’d made. And
even when I wasn’t making other people upset, I’d be upsetting myself. I would commit to things, and
then realize that I wanted nothing to do with those activities, then I’d question why I said yes in the
first place. I didn’t feel in control of the way I was spending my time.
Since starting this project, I’ve slowly implemented healthy boundaries in my work and personal
life. Just because someone wants to have a “feelings talk” in the office doesn’t mean I pick up the


phone and call the person at that very moment. Just because someone else wants to do something on a
specific day doesn’t mean that I can always make it work. In fact, just the other day I got an e-mail
from a team member who asked if I could speak over the weekend. The old Lauren would have
immediately written him back and said, “Sure! Call me whenever.” But, because I had previously set
aside time to work on a project on Saturday, the new Lauren said, “I’m working on a project
Saturday, but happy to set aside time to speak on Sunday.” For some, that may not seem like a big
deal, but for me, this was huge. It not only helped me complete my work on time, but it also helped me
to create a small but healthy boundary. Healthy boundaries are needed with friends and family, at
work, and even with your social media.

3. Cope with Failure—It’s Inevitable
The truth is, we don’t always get it right. As I’ve tried to get it together throughout this process, I’ve

experienced a lot of failure and rejection—and it sucks. I can’t begin to describe how many mornings
I woke up frustrated with myself for not accomplishing a goal or went to sleep knowing that I could
have done a better job that day. Since getting it together, though, I’ve recognized that each day is a
step in the process and one that I will eventually learn from.
Failure is life’s most important lesson, and once we decide to flip our lives upside down and push
ourselves to make a personal change, we will experience a lot of trial and error. You must also be
ready to deal with those errors, otherwise you’ll fall victim to a ton of self-hate, and it’s not healthy
for you or the people around you. If you’re feeling down on yourself, throughout this process, make
sure to keep turning back to the failure and coping section in Chapter 3 of this book. It will help you
tremendously. Remember, keep failing until you get it right!

4. Of All the People That You Count on, You Should Be Number One
Throughout the process of trying to get it together, I realized how I was constantly in my own way. At
night, I’d make an ambitious plan to work out at 6:30 in the morning the next day. The next morning,
I’d wake up grumpy and pound my phone alarm until it went silent. I’d go back to sleep thinking,
“Ugh, I need sleep. I’m not going to the gym.” Later, I’d wake up angry at myself for not following
through on my own plan. It was a vicious cycle.
I kept feeling like one side of my brain would plan with the goal of bettering myself (Good Lauren)
and then the other side of me would come along and ruin the plan (Bad Lauren). I needed to fix this
issue and start making commitments I could stick to, avoid overpromising things to myself, and follow
through on my own promises.
Another really helpful way to think about this is to shift your mindset. Think about this. When it
comes to making plans with friends, I always keep my word, almost to a fault. Even if going to a
specific restaurant or spending time a certain way is the last thing I want to do, I’ll likely do it for a
friend.
Think about that.
I keep my word and follow through on commitments to friends (that I don’t even want to do), and
yet I won’t do the same for myself! Doesn’t that sound ridiculous?
So, next time you try to break your own plans, think of yourself as a friend. Would you do this to a
friend? The answer will likely be no.

5. You Advocate for You
While my last point was about keeping commitments, this point is about taking yourself seriously.
After all, if you aren’t going to be your own advocate, who will?
I could go into work tomorrow and spend the entire day doing things for other people. I could
answer their questions, chat about their feelings, answer 100-plus e-mails, take all kinds of phone
calls, mentor team members, and offer advice to others all day. If that were the case, I’d leave the
office having done a lot of stuff but having done nothing for myself. If you don’t start every day by
reminding yourself of your own goals and actually planning the time for you to work on achieving
those goals, you’ll never get from where you are to where you want to be. Life is full of requests,
questions, demands, phone calls, text messages, and more. If you don’t take control, stop the noise,
and focus on yourself, who will?

6. Determine Your Goals
If you would have asked me about my goals before this book, I would have rattled off 100 different
things—well, if I could even remember what they were. Today, I understand the importance of
focusing on three main goals and being able to recite them anytime and anywhere. I was embarrassed
the other day when my book agent asked if I had any New Year’s resolutions and I sort of mumbled an
answer. The truth was that I did have goals, but I couldn’t remember what they were. If I don’t know
my goals—who would? Know your goals, memorize them, and shout them from the rooftops.
In this book, goal-setting will come up a few different times. In Chapter 4, I have a whole exercise
for you that helps you create your big goals for the year and come up with Action Plans on how to
reach them. Make sure that these goals are clearly thought through each time so you have a better
chance at achieving them!

7. Know Your Priorities
Everyone has their own priorities. Sometimes we think we have certain priorities, and then something
happens and this shifts. I could say that my priority is work until I’m blue in the face, but the reality is
—it’s not. For me, it’s my family: my husband, parents, siblings, extended family, and friends. I

would do anything for them. Understanding your priorities and other people’s priorities (and
accepting that usually they aren’t the same) will help you throughout your life (and throughout this
book).
In addition to knowing your priorities, you must be able to actually prioritize—at work, at home,
and even at the gym. Until recently, I thought I was good at prioritizing. Over time, I’ve learned this is
actually a weakness for me. I’m one of those “everything’s important” types. In Chapter 6, I dig into
your priorities and really encourage you to think about not only how you can identify your priorities
but also how you can better tackle your priorities throughout work and life.

8. Know Your Needs
Throughout this process, I was challenged to continue learning about myself. I was constantly asking
myself questions: “What makes me happy/sad/mad/upset? How can I be the most productive at work?
What can I do to self-motivate? How long do I need to sleep every night in order to feel ready for the
next day? How many hours do I need after work before I feel ready for bed?”


By answering these questions and countless more, you will learn to pay close attention to your
personal needs throughout this adventure. That knowledge will be power when getting it together.

9. Aim for Completion—No Half Tasks
I’m the queen of half-finishing projects and getting roadblocked. Here’s an example. In December one
of our best sales team members, Katheryn, asked me for business cards. I was excited to use our big
credit to Moo.com and get these for her. But every time I’d go to the website to try to finish the
project, I’d get an error message upon checkout. I tried multiple times and had no luck. Instead of
calling the company or figuring out how to handle the situation, I’d just stop. Months later, Katheryn
still didn’t have business cards and was starting to get frustrated. And she was right! I kept getting
roadblocked and didn’t make the time to sit down and get it done. Finally, as I wrote this manuscript,
I realized that I need to stop half-completing tasks and get shit done! I blocked a half hour of time on
my calendar, called the company, had them walk me through the website, and ordered the business
cards. Now, I only wish I’d done that months before.

What I want to reiterate here is that half-completed tasks aren’t acceptable, and you have to hold
yourself to that standard. I should have made myself complete that task months ago. Make the time to
stop what you are doing, figure things out, and check things off your list.

10. Embrace Boredom
My college boyfriend once said, “Boredom is the enemy.” He said that we should never talk about
being bored because there are so many great things to do in life. Because of this, I was convinced for
years that boredom was a bad word. Looking back, I understand that he was trying to push the
importance of appreciating life and how there are endless things to do so we should never be bored
(or unappreciative). Today, I find me giving myself permission to be bored. The idea of not having a
set to-do list and being able to wander is ideal to me—it sounds kind of perfect.
If we had some time to be bored in our lives, what would we do? What would we discover?
A researcher from the University of Louisville wrote that boredom helps to restore the perception
of meaningful activities. He continues to say that “In the absence of boredom, one would remain
trapped in unfulfilling situations. . . . Boredom [gives us] a ‘push’ that motivates us to switch goals
and projects.”1 Therefore, being bored and embracing boredom can push us to find the right track for
our lives. But to be bored, we must give ourselves a break. I used to fear “being bored,” but now I
live to find it.

11. Always Self-Evaluate
When I prioritize and make decisions about how I will spend my time during the day, I’ll ask myself,
“At the end of today—what must be done? What are my nonnegotiables? What will I be upset about
come day’s end should I not accomplish it?” These are the activities that I always start with. The
feeling of being accomplished at the end of the day and hitting your own goals is amazing. Remember
to always be evaluating how things are going and your progress (good and bad). Some questions to
ask yourself at the end of a long day include:
• What worked?


•

•
•
•

What didn’t?
What made you happy?
What challenged you?
What’s your number one goal for tomorrow?

12. Preparation Is Key
A constant theme for me this year has been the word preparation. One of my closest friends,
Samantha, is a hair stylist and makeup artist. Last year, she was doing a high-pressure photo shoot.
The models and agents were very particular about their hair and indecisive about the type of look they
were going for. If I were Samantha, I would have been super nervous about the entire thing. I
remember asking her the night before the big shoot, “Are you nervous?” She looked at me and said,
“No. I’m prepared.”
It turns out Sam had multiple conversations with both the models and the agents, triple-checked her
product supply, and put enough time in the “getting ready” schedule so that if anything was wrong,
she’d be able to fix it easily. Her response impressed me so much and made me realize she’s right! If
you are prepared, you will be ready and confident for (almost) anything life will throw your way.

13. Celebrate the Good Stuff
When something exciting happens, celebrate it. Life is short—celebrate the good stuff because we all
know that it’s not all good stuff. Part of being your best self is letting yourself (and others)
acknowledge you when something great happens. When you get too wrapped up in getting it together,
you can get into a focused work zone where you don’t want to do anything except be productive. Take
a break and go celebrate yourself—you deserve it!

14. Stop Getting Ready to Get Ready
At a certain point, you can only talk about doing something for so long. Eventually, you must take

action. Stop getting ready to get ready and just go! Here’s an example: Let’s say I want to write a
book. I spend five weeks planning out my book-writing process, making notes on calendars,
schedules, and more. I talk to people about how I’m going to write a book. I tell loved ones I’m going
to write this book. The conversations and plans continue, but the actual writing never starts. This is
what it means when I say, “Stop getting ready to get ready.” At some point, I need to stop preparing
and just write the book, or else it will never get done. In this book, I talk a lot about planning and a lot
about preparation. But at some point, you have to shut up, put your head down, and just get the work
done.

15. Choose Methods over Moods
Like anyone else, I can get cranky and frustrated. As I wrote this book, I realized the importance of
needing to ignore my own moods at times. Before the book, I was quick to make decisions based on
my mood. For example, I would think, “I’m tired, so therefore I will decide not to go to the gym.” Or
“I’m hungry, so I’ll eat whatever is in front of me instead of planning a healthy meal.” Without fail,
every time I chose my mood over my method, I would fall short of completing my goals and end up


upset with myself. Today, I’ve realized this doesn’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) my default. Instead,
I try to make decisions based on my methods, not my moods. My method is my strategy, and it’s the
way I’ve determined I can accomplish a goal.

16. Use Your Time Wisely
Time is the most valuable thing we have. It’s the most precious thing you control. In the book, you’ll
hear me talk frequently about the importance of time. I believe in taking control of the way we spend
our time and taking it very seriously. When we aren’t careful, our schedules control us, but with the
right amount of thought, preparation, and planning, we can control our schedules. In addition to using
your time wisely, be intentional about your time and the way you spend it. Being intentional was a
constant theme and came up in almost every interview I conducted for this book. Everyone pushed the
importance of setting your intentions for the day first thing and, again, being intentional with how we
spend our time.

17. Stop Blaming Others
It’s easy to blame others for the problems we’ve brought on ourselves. We must stand up and take
responsibility. If I tell someone I will do something in a certain amount of time, and then don’t do it,
whose fault is that? Mine and mine alone. When you catch yourself playing the blame game (as we all
do), take a deep breath and say to yourself, “This is my situation, and I’m going to do what I can to fix
it.”
•••

IT WON’T BE EASY, BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT
Just like anything else, the advice in this book requires patience, trial and error, and for you to push
yourself. The way that I got through the work that went into being in a place where I could write this
book was by constantly reminding myself of how badly I wanted to feel more together—day in and
day out. When you are facing a challenge and don’t know the answer, I encourage you to read over
these 17 principles. They will serve as a guide and a resource to provide you with the solution you
are looking for.
Throughout this book, I’m going to do my part and give you action step upon action step that you
can easily implement to change your lifestyle and get it together. But, you and only you must put in the
work and think about who you are and who you want to be. I will provide the blueprint for how to get
there, but you have to commit to doing the work.
When people say, “You need to get it together!,” they don’t just mean that you have to be more
organized. It’s much more than that. It means figuring out who you are and what you want. It means
you need to align your actions with your priorities. And that’s important. So, I ask you: Who are you?
What do you want?
•••


Writing this book and pushing myself to always follow my own advice hasn’t been an easy path, and I
don’t want to sugarcoat that. If it were easy, everyone would already feel put together.
While family and friends watched me struggle to write this book and practice what I was

preaching, they thought I was a little nuts (I think). Out of love, they’d say things like, “Give yourself
a break” or “It’s not a big deal.” But, here’s the thing, I’ve been alive for almost 34 years, and for
most of my more “adult” years, I’ve needed to get it together. I’m not saying that I haven’t done
anything credible; I know I have. However, there were little things (at work, at home, with my
friends, with my family) that I could have been doing better. Now you could argue (as many do) that
we all have things that we could do better. Yes, but if you could fix half of those things today,
wouldn’t you try?
I wanted to find ways to remove stress, be happier, feel less overwhelmed, worry less, and feel
more put together in general.
I wanted change.
I also wasn’t living under a rock. I understand that life isn’t always pretty and that sad, tragic, ugly
things happen every single day that we can’t control. I know that when it rains, it pours, and there’s
only so much that we can control. Life happens, regardless of whether you’re prepared for it. But,
even with this being true, that doesn’t mean we can’t clean up what we can control in hopes that it
will help us feel more together.
To write this book, in the best way I knew how, I opened my heart, swallowed my pride, and
decided to put it all out there. I didn’t just write this book, I lived this book. I’ve implemented every
plan, tried every tip, and experimented with every piece of advice—and I promise, this stuff can be
powerful. These are little steps that can really help you go a long way. More important, these
practical tips helped me get from where I was to where I wanted to be: getting it together, one day at
time.
I can’t wait to help you do the same.


chapter 2
OWN YOUR DAY, CLEAN UP YOUR ROUTINE

A

s a little girl, I used to always love playing in my parents’ eighties-style bathroom. It was a

gigantic room with a huge bathtub, ginormous shower, his and her sinks, and since it was the
eighties, completely covered in baby pink bite-sized tiles. Every night, I’d beg to take a bath in their
bathtub where I’d pretend to be a television host and narrate my entire nightly routine. First, I’d go
into the bathtub and relax for a few minutes. Next, I’d start my hair routine of shampoo and cream
rinse (which we now call conditioner). I’d use buckets of the Bath and Body Works Sun-Ripened
Raspberry shower gel and scrub myself clean with my hot pink loofa next. Then I’d move to my
mother’s vanity, where I’d play with her makeup products and explain why and how I was using each
one to my fake viewers. I can only imagine how I was using the eye liner and mascara!
Fast-forward 20-something years, and here I am, still obsessed with routines and people’s
schedules and, of course, eager to share my current daily routine with all of you.
For me, a big part of getting it together has been refining my daily routine. Our routines should
reflect the lifestyles that we want to live, not the ones that we’ve lived to this point. Remember, every
single morning we can rewrite our stories and update our daily routines. Let’s start today.
Before we dig in, I want to say (again) that I know we’re probably not experiencing the exact same
life and work styles, but we do have at least one thing in common: we are trying to be the best
versions of ourselves that we can possibly be. I’ll bet you want to wake up productive and go to bed
happy. You want to feel confident instead of anxious. You may even want to make more time for
yourself so you can do more of the things you love.
No matter where you are in your career or life, we’re all trying to be our authentic selves
(whatever that means to you), and while we may not admit it, we’re all just trying to figure it out—
day by day.
In my interview with Josh Notes, I asked him about his daily routine, and he explained that really
nailing down his daily routine was key in finding overall success. He said, “If you win the day, you
can win the week. If you can win the week, you can win the month. And, before you know it, you will
be winning at life.” This statement really got me thinking about my routine and how I use it to win my
day, because if you can do that, you will be off to a great start for your life.
•••
Now, for me to explain how far I’ve come in creating a schedule that makes me productive, happy,
and healthy, I’ll have to contrast my new schedule with my former schedule. Before I dive into the
“new and improved Lauren,” I’ll give you a glimpse of what my schedule used to look like when I

didn’t feel in control of my life or my routine. So, let’s rewind the clock a few years and brace
yourself for Lauren—the messy days!


LAUREN: THE MESSY DAYS
My first job after college was super strict and monitored (think asking for permission to go to the
bathroom), so when I started my own company, I had no idea how to spend my time. I was used to
someone caring about where I was and what I did at all times, so the fact that no one was watching
my every move was both liberating and terrifying.
When I met my husband (who is also an entrepreneur), I was in my mid-twenties and had zero
employees, so I was my only issue. When we started dating, I remember getting fed up with him when
he didn’t want to stay out late and would say to him, “What do you mean you have to get up early and
go to work tomorrow? You run your own business—you can do anything you want.” He was
confused. “What do you mean? Of course, I need to go to work. If I want to continue to run my
business, I need to do the job—and do it well—every single day,” he would say, baffled by my
complaint.
“But . . . you make the rules! You can work when you want. Why would you choose to conform?” I
would ask because I genuinely didn’t understand the need to have a routine to run a productive and
effective business.
Needless to say, I learned a ton from him and how he handled his workday. The first thing I
learned was that one of my biggest challenges was waking up early. Without having to be somewhere
at a specific time or meet someone at a specific place, I found it incredibly challenging to wake up at
a decent hour. In addition to that, I worked at my desk that happened to be right next to my bed. During
these times, getting up before 10 a.m. seemed impossible.
I also had difficulty managing my priorities and commitments. I didn’t keep a calendar. I had the
classic “I can remember everything!” mentality, which resulted in me making plans and totally
forgetting about half of them. I also thought I could do anything from anywhere, so I’d plan important
business calls for times when I knew I’d be on the road or traveling. The outcome? I remember being
on the phone with someone from Coach (the handbag company) and driving through the middle of
nowhere California on my way to a speaking event. The executive got so frustrated with my poor

phone service that he finally just said, “This is unprofessional. We can’t do business together.”
At the time, I didn’t realize how my lack of organization and routine was hurting my professional
relationships.
On top of this, I didn’t have an office when I started my business, so my getting ready routine
didn’t exist. I remember worrying to myself, “If I have kids one day, will I ever get dressed? Will I
always be the lady in the sweats?” I got so used to putting on a pair of oversized Abercrombie
sweatpants, throwing on a big T-shirt from a family vacation that read Sedona, bundling up in my
dad-like gray hoodie (yes, the same one from the gym), and clipping my hair on top of my head that a
friend finally said, “Lauren! You look terrible. Go brush your hair, wash your face, and get it
together. You look like a house rat!” And, she was right. (Got to love good friends!) It wasn’t until a
few years later that I finally started getting dressed regardless of whether I had to leave the house that
day.
In addition to being clueless about how to conduct my workday, I was similarly bad at managing a
team. Once I started hiring employees, we’d have meetings that would run for hours on end. I
remember one of my first employees getting upset because her day was spent having long-winded
conversations instead of accomplishing tasks. There was no organization, no systems, and no best
practices established. I was basically making everything up as I went.


The changes to my daily routine and breaking my bad habits didn’t happen overnight. I’d love to
say that I drank some sort of magic potion that suddenly transformed me into the ideal professional,
but that wasn’t the case. The truth is I worked like that for years. When I think back and ask myself,
“What changed?” I don’t have a quick answer. I was spending so much time with my now-husband, I
slowly began copying his routine. He and his business partner would wake up early, start blasting
Stan Getz’s “The Girl from Ipanema,” get dressed, and start their day hosting conference calls with
their teams. And from there, it was off to the races. They’d take a quick break for lunch and then get
right back to it.
I’d never really seen entrepreneurs at work in such an up-close way before, so I was fascinated by
how they ran their business. Their dedication, motivation, and organization inspired me. I started to
wake up when they did, work when they did, take lunch when they did, and finish the workday when

they did.
As I started to add structure to my days, I felt my productivity increase. I was landing more calls
and more opportunities, and producing content more consistently. And, thanks to their example (shout
out to Max Durovic and Mike Kenny of Aarrow Advertising, yes, the now world-famous sign
spinners), my work style completely transformed.
•••
Today, I’m ironically and frequently asked about my routine, my hustle, and generally how I get things
done. I’m asked questions including, “How do you balance your family and work so well?” or “How
do you run your work meetings, and what kinds of meetings are you in all day?” The other day my
husband’s grandmother said, “Lauren, how do you have time to pick out your clothes? You always
look so put together, but you are always traveling and never home to shop.” These questions secretly
thrill me because people don’t know how long it took me to get it together—and I’m really proud of
where I am today.

A LOOK INTO MY DAY NOW
Now it’s time to take you through my new daily routine. I’ve been following this for about a year and
constantly changing, evaluating, and updating it.

Bonus Tip
Embracing the night before to-do list has been a game changer for me because it serves to illustrate
your commitment to tomorrow’s self. When I make my to-do list in the morning, I find that it takes
me too much time to put together and I already feel behind. Instead, when I write tomorrow’s to-do
list at the end of the workday when things slow down. I feel like I’m using the best time of my day to
plan ahead for the next day. (Make sure this isn’t a never-ending to-do list. Nothing will make you
feel more extremely unproductive than a list that can never be finished.) We’ll discuss to-do lists
more in Chapter 5 when we talk about the tools you need for success.
Welcome to a day in the life of the new Lauren.


My day technically starts the evening before. Every night, I pick out my clothes for the next day.

Sometimes, I pick out my outfits for the entire week over the weekend, so all I have do is lay them out
each night. Next, I make sure my gym bag is packed and ready to go (this is also prepped and ready to
go before the start of each week). Finally, I get myself mentally prepared for the next day by setting
my to-do list (which I challenge myself to keep to less than five items) and referencing my tools (this
includes my Outlook Calendar, inbox, notebook, and project management system—all of which we
will talk about in depth in Chapter 5).
Now that we know what I do the night before, let’s look at the start of my day. Today I was up by
6:15. I plopped onto the couch, plugged in my laptop, turned on Morning Joe, made coffee, and
started working by 6:30 a.m. I try not to have any calls before 8:30 a.m. when we technically “open
for business” so I can own my morning time. Remember, time is one of the guiding principles of this
journey. Throughout this book you’ll hear this mantra over and over—you need to own your time so
that it doesn’t own you—and starting your day off by setting your own schedule puts this into practice.

Bonus Tip
I find that if I open my e-mails first thing in the morning, I’m immediately sucked into everyone
else’s goals and priorities! Of course, you should respond to your e-mails, but you should do it on
your own time.
I typically start each morning with, a “me project,” which is something I want to do and doesn’t
require a response from someone else. For example, today, I wanted to finish writing a blog for my
website, so I started with that and crossed it off my list 20 minutes later.
Next, I review my calendar to make sure it’s accurate and includes everything I need to do for that
day. Yes, I did look at it the night before, but when I look the night before, I’m typically only looking
to see what time my day really starts and when my first morning call or meeting takes place. Now, I’m
reviewing to make sure that my day makes sense and my time is being spent in the right ways. I
personally e-mail anyone that I have a call or meeting with that day to triple-check that we’re
confirmed. I find that when you reach out to confirm, people are less likely to cancel. And if they do
cancel, you’ll avoid sitting on a call waiting for someone who isn’t going to show up and wasting
your time moving calls around to make a new time fit with your schedule. If there’s anything specific I
want to send someone before our conversation (such as a meeting agenda or case study), I attach that
to the e-mail.

If I’m going to a meeting that day, I make sure that I’m completely aware of how far it is and what
time I need to leave. I try to allow 15 to 30 minutes of cushion to avoid stress (and I’m famous for
getting lost). I add this travel time to the calendar and make note of things like “LB needs to leave”
(LB being me—Lauren Berger). I also try to remove any unnecessary gaps in the day. Most of my
tasks can’t be done in 20 minutes, so I like to have either large gaps of time that do allow me to do
something or no gaps of time.
On an ideal morning, I also take 10 minutes or so to make sure I’m ready for my calls for the day.
This makes me feel confident that I’m prepared, whether it be for a business I’m pitching, people I’m
speaking with, or any prep work I need to do. I’ll also take this time to connect with the people or
person I’m meeting on LinkedIn. I find this reminds them that I’m a real person and keeps us
connected far past the call itself too. I then check out their company Instagram page and their company


website to see what they are featuring and promoting. If I’m responsible for creating an agenda, I also
confirm that this is handled and saved inside of the calendar invite (and e-mailed to whoever needs
access).
Next, I take out the to-do list that I created the night before and immediately compare it to my
calendar. I then look at my day with this in mind: “When am I going to do all of the things on my to-do
list?”
A problem I frequently encounter is that I have a to-do list that is completely different from the
activities on my calendar. If I’m booked on 30-minute calls all day long, I’ll never accomplish the
items on my to-do list. So, I go into my calendar and block out time for items on my to-do list. Here’s
an example. Let’s say I must put together a proposal for a client (a task that could take about 25
minutes). This may be a top priority on my to-do list, but if I’m booked all day long, when would I
possibly have the time to sit down and do this? Also, proposals aren’t exactly easy to create, so I also
need to make sure I have the time and space to really focus.
My first step is to look at my calendar to see where I can fit this particular project into my day. If I
have the time, I schedule it in right away. If don’t, I evaluate other items already on my calendar. I ask
myself, “Can any of these be pushed to another time since this proposal is time sensitive?” If the
answer is yes, I’ll reschedule accordingly. If the answer is no, then I’ll need to look at my personal

time. How can I fit this into my day without taking away from my other personal activities
(exercising, eating dinner, relaxing)? Usually, I can find at least 25 minutes to move around within my
day. If I absolutely cannot fit it in, I’ll set it as a “Me” task for the following morning. I’ll manage the
clients’ expectations and let them know that I’ll be able to send them a proposal by early tomorrow
afternoon, as I always want to have some wiggle room.
Sure, things will change and shift each day, but going into work with a serious plan is crucial. If
you don’t make the most of your day, who will?
Once my day is locked, I scroll through my e-mails from that morning and the evening before to
make sure I didn’t miss anything pressing. I address urgent e-mails and leave any other e-mails in my
inbox for the time being. Remember, I’m working with the mentality that I should be focusing on my
priorities, not other people’s. Lauryn Hock, influencer and founder of lauryncakes.com, says that she
flags her most important e-mails in the morning so they sit on the top of her inbox. This allows her to
clearly see her priorities for the day.
Usually by 7:45 a.m., I’ve wrapped up any urgent situations and I’m ready to execute the daily plan
I’ve created for myself. I’m also minutes away from running late, so I need to get the heck out the
door!
First, I put together my workbag, as I don’t want that to hold me up as I’m trying to get out of the
house. Most of it is already organized, but since I’ve been working on my computer and with my
notebook throughout the morning, I have to wrap up my chargers and put everything back in the bag. (I
try to clean the bag out once a week so I avoid the overflowing disaster that it can easily become.)
Then, I head upstairs to get dressed for the day. My goal is to get ready in 15 minutes, 20 if I have
a speaking engagement or appearance that day. Because I shower and do my hair the evening before, I
don’t have to deal with the blow-dryer in the morning. I try to get ready in three to four 5-minute
blocks of time, and I must have music playing while I get ready. This sounds crazy, but the music
really keeps me on pace while I get ready. If I don’t have the music to keep me on track, I end up
daydreaming as I put on mascara and completely losing track of the time.
After I’m ready, I grab a banana, yogurt, or oatmeal, or my husband makes egg whites with lots of


Sriracha (he’s cute!). By this time, I usually mobile order a venti iced coffee to get me through my

day. While I order, I eat my breakfast and chat with my husband about our schedules for that day. We
like to try to get home around the same time as often as possible.
Next, I’m to the sunglasses bowl where we keep change, sunglasses, and keys. I stole this idea
from my sister-in-law after spotting it in her house. It’s funny how when you are trying to be more
organized with your life, things like sunglasses bowls make you excited! This is a great idea as these
items never had a home before.
I’m in the car by exactly 8:23 a.m. (on a good day) with my workbag, gym bag, thermos filled with
water, and my iced coffee (which I pick up from a store steps away from where I live). Because I’m
always coming in and out of my car with so much stuff in my hands, I try to keep my car as clean as
possible. I try to get a car wash once per month and have the “take everything inside at the end of the
night” philosophy so I’m not having to perform the dreaded task of cleaning out my car each day.
Lucky for me, my commute is only three to five minutes. Call it a perk of running your own
business! I’m big on talking to people while I’m driving (using Bluetooth, of course!), so I call my
best friend, Meghan, who lives in Oklahoma. We talk so frequently that we can usually catch up and
say hello pretty quickly. (You’ll get tons of tips for staying in touch with friends in Chapter 8.)
A few minutes before 8:30, I get to the office. Even though I’m the boss, I try to be on time, not
only because I want to set a good example, but in all honesty, I’m truly excited to work with my team!
On Mondays, we do our team meetings.
After that, I go right into weekly meetings with the sales and marketing teams to review goals for
the coming week. The rest of the day is usually a mix of calls and meetings—these might be pitch
calls, sales calls, client calls, internal meetings, press pitches, interviews, collaboration
brainstorming calls, and so many other possibilities.

Bonus Tip
I challenge myself to keep all work calls to 15 minutes (sometimes possible, and sometimes not). I
try to establish the goal of the call, reiterate the agenda, ask questions, and understand the next steps.
I try to keep my “elevator pitch” under two minutes so that I don’t hold up the pace of the call. One
of my most popular YouTube videos is called “How to Create Your 30- Second Elevator Pitch”—
check it out on our YouTube page (@internqueen).
Also, if the action items (after a call) are simple, I try to do them right away. For example, if I

need to send someone a deck. I can do that immediately following a call, and it takes me less than
two minutes. If the action items are more complicated (perhaps I have to write up a proposal or
something of that nature), I block out time to work on it within the next one or two business days
(and put it on my calendar so that it happens).
Here’s a breakdown of my day when I wrote this chapter: